Best Tips and Tricks of VLC Media Player

If you often watch movies or listen to songs, VLC Media Player is a handy player available for various platforms including Windows, Mac, Android, etc. VLC Media Player is a very feature-rich media player which comes with a smooth user interface and easy to use options. However, if you are new to VLC Media Player, you can check out these tips and tricks. Here is a guide that will let you get started with the VLC media player so that you can be a power user within few moments. With the help of these following tips and tricks, you would be able to do various things that you cannot think of.

Play YouTube Video in VLC Media Player

The YouTube’s video player is probably the best player in this category. It comes with almost all the options that you might need. From fast forward to playing speed, you can manage everything in YouTube’s video player. However, let’s assume that you do not want to watch YouTube videos on YouTube website and instead you want to watch YouTube video in VLC Media Player for Windows. For that, you need to follow these steps.

At first, go to YouTube website and copy the YouTube video link.

Then open VLC Media Player and go to Media > Open Network Stream.

Therefore, paste the YouTube video link in the corresponding empty box and the Play button.

It will start streaming your video within moments. However, it depends on your internet connection speed as well.

Capture Video Screenshot using VLC Media Player

Let’s assume that you are watching a beautiful video and you want to capture some screenshots to save it as an image. This happens when people watch travelling video or tourism department videos or drone shots. If you are one of them, who often watch such videos and you want to capture video screenshot, there are two different ways to get it done. First, you can use a dedicated screenshot capture tool like Snagit or so. Second, you can use the inbuilt method of VLC Media Player. VLC Media Player comes with an inbuilt screen capture tool.

To use it, start playing the video and select a time when you want to capture the screenshot.

Therefore, go to Video > Take Snapshot.

Alternatively, you can press Shift + S as well.

It will save the screenshot in the Pictures folder, which is a Library folder.

Convert Media Files Using VLC Media Player

There are many times when we want to convert a media file due to any reason. For example, a certain format is not compatible on your mobile or so. In that case, you can convert the media file using two different methods. First, you can use a dedicated converter app for Windows. However, if you are using VLC Media Player, you do not have to get another third-party software for getting the job done. To get started, do follow the following steps.

At first, open VLC Media Player and go to Media > Convert / Save.

Then, add the media file that you want to convert using the Add button and click the Convert / Save button respectively.

Therefore, you can choose the output format, which is known as Profile. After that, you need to choose a destination, where the file will be saved.

At last, click the Start button.

It will convert your file within moments. However, it consumes time based on the file you have chosen.

Cut Video Using VLC Media Player

Let’s presume that you are watching a video and you have liked it so much that you want to make a small clip out of that and transfer it to somewhere else. At such moments, you can always try any video cutter app those are readily available on the web. However, if you are using VLC Media Player, you may not need such thing since VLC Media Player has an inbuilt option to cut a video. It records the video, and you can select the start and end time to cut it accordingly.

To get started, open the file in VLC Media Player.

Therefore, go to View > Advanced Controls. It will unlock some options visible over the regular play/pause/stop buttons. Here you can find a record button as well.

To start recording, play the video file and select a time where you want to start recording and click the record button to commence the recording. Click the same button again when you want to end the recording.

The extracted video file will be saved in the Pictures folder that is a Library folder.

Download Subtitle of Any Video in VLC Media Player

Let’s assume that you are watching a foreign movie but you do not have the subtitle or the existing subtitle is creating problems. At such moments, you can install a VLC addon and download the subtitle using VLC Media Player itself. You do not have to browse any website or find out a particular subtitle since VLC Media Player can do the job for you.

To get started, you need to install an addon called VLsub. For that, go to Tools > Plugins and Extensions. From the list, find out VLsub and click the Install button to install it accordingly.

After that, play a movie that you want to watch with subtitle. After opening, go to View > VLsub.

Now you can search for the subtitle by hash or name. Click on the respective option that you want and wait for a couple of seconds when VLC will gather some subtitles.

After getting the list, choose a subtitle that you want to download and click the Download selection button.

It will be added automatically.

Set Video Wallpaper Using VLC Media Player

Although it sounds unrealistic, if you want to set a video as a wallpaper on your Windows computer, you can utilise the VLC Media Player to get it done. This is very easy and not much time consuming as well.

At first, open VLC Media Player and go to Tools > Preferences and switch to the Video tab.

Select DirectX (DirectDraw) video output from the Output drop-down menu and save the change. Following that, you need to restart the media player.

Therefore, open a video that you want to set a wallpaper on your Windows computer. Now right-click on the video > Video > Set as wallpaper.